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Crockett's Testarossa
".]] Following the destruction of his Daytona Spyder by Stinger missile, Crockett took to driving a white 1986 Ferrari Testarossa, given to him by Castillo in "Stone's War". The presence of a genuine Ferrari on Miami Vice is much-lauded after the car's introduction, and in the latter three seasons closeup shots of the vehicle's interior, badging and especially its manual gearbox in action are common; the irony is the Testarossa is today considered one of the worst cars Ferrari has ever made. Notable Appearances As with the Daytona before it, the Testarossa was the focus of the action in several popular music scenes in the show, including: *"When The Rain Comes Down" -- being chased across Miami by government thugs in "Stone's War". *"Don't Need A Gun" -- evading Mafia henchmen in a spectacular chase in "Down For The Count (Part II)". *"The Edge Of Town" -- driving through the night before Crockett's confrontation with Milton Glantz in "Death And The Lady". *"Dangerous Game" -- racing across Miami to save Gina before she is killed in "Blood And Roses". *"Bad Attitude" -- on the way to the final confrontation with General Borbon in "Freefall", mirroring the "In the Air Tonight" Scene from the pilot. Storyline After his Daytona was destroyed, Crockett was forced to use far less exotic vehicles to conduct his undercover work, a move that he felt was seriously detrimental to his producing results. His continual complaining to Castillo eventually led to the Lieutenant handing over a new vehicle more befitting of Crockett's high-rolling drug dealer personality in "Stone's War". He later taught his son Billy to drive in the car, as seen in "Child's Play". At the end of the series Crockett drives Tubbs to the airport in his "stolen car" so that his partner can return to New York, although knowing Crockett's honest personality it is unlikely he actually ended up taking the car for himself. Real Cars While the Testarossa was introduced solely because Enzo Ferrari was outraged that a Corvette was being used to portray a Daytona, mocked-up vehicles were still used on the show even after the Testarossa's introduction, largely due to the high cost of the real Ferraris ($181,000 in 1986, compared to some $35,000 for the McBurnie Daytona Spyders used previously). As a result a DeTomaso Pantera with a Testarossa body kit was used for much of the stunt driving scenes or whenever there was a risk of wrecking the real car. There was also a defect with genuine Testarossas that caused them to stall when executing high speed spins, and the use of the Pantera allowed producers to bypass this. The modified DeTomaso Pantera can be distinguished from the bona fide Testarossas in several scenes by it's higher ride height, different wheels and the visible seams on its body panels. The Pantera stunt car had several further additions beyond those involved in making it look like an authentic Testarossa, including: * A nitrous oxide system for quick takeoffs * A rollbar for safety * An aftermarket racing radiator to deal with the humid Miami air * An enlarged large carbuerator * A special brake wired to a separate brake booster that could lock both rear wheels, mainly for the purpose of performing impressive-looking stunts. This action was used most notably in the episode "Down For The Count (Part II)". Notes *Although never implicitly stated in the show, it is possible that Crockett's Testarossa is in fact Bunny Berrigan's from "When Irish Eyes Are Crying" resprayed white. This makes sense as Berrigan was killed shortly before Crockett takes possession of his new car. *Outside of the fiction of the show, the above is in fact true as the same car was used to portray both Crockett's and Berrigan's cars. Crockett's Testarossa was originally intended to be black like Berrigan's, but producers decided it did not show up well in night scenes. Furthermore, one of the black cars was crashed and as a result they were painted white. *Crockett's Testarossa is featured in the PlayStation 2 game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - when the player achieves a three-star wanted level or above they will be chased by two casually dressed undercover cops, one Caucasian and one African-American, who drive a police Cheetah, a car heavily modelled after the 1986 Testarossa. Furthermore, the Cheetah they drive is often coloured white. Category:Vehicles